INDEX

What is a rain forest?

1.

2.Where are rain forests located?

3.What animals do you find in a rain forest?

4.Layers of the rain forest

5.What plants can you find in the rain forest?

6.Dangers to the rain forest.

1.WHAT IS A RAIN FOREST?

A rain forest is a tropical forest, that has a humid climate. Tropical rain forests are found near the equator of the earth; therefore, the rain forests temperature can rise up to 34 degrees Celsius. The average humidity is between 77% and 88%. As well as this, it often rains more than 100 inches a year, which is more than twice the average rainfall in Britain.

Tropical rain forests are the richest of all environments on earth, meaning that you can find more animals and plants there compared to other areas such as for example deserts, oceans and woodlands.

The rainforest is made up of several different layers-just like the storey of a skyscraper.

2. WHERE ARE RAIN FORESTS LOCATED

Amazon rain

forest

Equator

As mentioned before, rain forests are near the equator, consequently the rain forests climate is tropical. They can be found in many different continents: Africa, South America, and in Asia.

Sadly, large parts of the rain forest are vanishing today. They are cut down to get wood for the timber industry as well as to make room for farming, roads, quarries and housing.

This is a big problem. Not only does the habitat for so many animals disappear, which then become endangered, but also for important plants. Plants are sometimes used as ingredients in medicine. There might be a possibility that some rain forest plants may have the potential to help cure diseases in the future. But if we lose the rain forest, that chance will be lost.

The Amazon rain forest, which is the largest forest in the world, is also often named "the lungs of the world". It is called that because it produces 20 % of the world's oxygen, which we need to breathe and live.

African rain forest

Asian rain forest

Australian rain forest

3. WHAT ANIMALS DO YOU FIND IN A RAIN FOREST?

Did you know that the rainforest is home to more than 50 % of the world's animals? Different animals live in different layers of the rainforest. There are insects, arachnids, worms, birds, mammals as well as reptiles and amphibians.

I will introduce you to a couple of my favourites:

Tree Viper

Tree vipers can be found in many rain forests; therefore, the rain forest can be dangerous. However, this species of snake isn't venomous. It's green scales camouflage in the forest; Hence, it's predators can not find him easily.

Tree Frog

Tree frogs are found in many different rain forests.

These frogs aren't poisonous, even if their colour

suggests it. These animals need a lot of water to

survive, because their skin needs to be moist. In

addition, you can keep these animals as pets.

This is an example of a poisonous frog -

it is a poison blue dart frog.

4. LAYERS OF THE RAIN FOREST

Forest

floor

Understory

Canopy

Emergent layer

There are 4 layers of the rain forest: the forest floor, the understory, the canopy, the emergent layer.

At the top is the emergent layer. There are the tallest trees, towering as much as 70 metres above the forest floor. Their trunks measure up to 5 metres around. In this layer it is windy and bright and you can see birds and bats swooping around, feeding on insects. Also, there are fruits and flowers.

Below this layer, is the canopy, which is a thick layer of branches and foliage. Here it is sunny and warm and plenty of fruits and flowers grow for a variety of animals to feed on.

Underneath is a layer that is more shaded. It is called the understorey, where animals fly, leap, climb or glide between the trees. Here you find smaller plants that would not be able to live on the dark forest floor. They use a clever trick: they root themselves in pockets of decaying plants among branches and use the trees as a support to reach up towards the light.

At the bottom level, the forest floor, there is hardly any light. That is why things begin to decay quickly.

5.WHAT PLANTS DO YOU FIND IN A RAIN FOREST?

A lot of plants in the rainforest grow on trees to make the most of the sunshine in the canopy. Bromeliads are the most common as well as orchids. I will show you some others that I found interesting and beautiful:

This is a beautiful flower from the rain forest. It is named the heliconia flower (lobster claws). They are also called " parrot flowers" because of their beak-like "bracts" which can be many different colours: orange, purple, red, yellow, pink and green. Heliconia flower comes from the Greek word helikokinios.

This is a water lily. These can be found in the South Americn Continent. In addition, these plants can be divided into groups: day bloomers and night bloomers. These plants can be found in lakes. Nymphaeaceae is the family of water lilies.Furthermore, you can see many in the amazon rainforest.

The passion fruit flower (passiflorar passifloraceae) can be found in many rain forests. Needless to say, you can eat the fruit that comes from this planet.These plants produce a fruit named passion fruit.There are two varieties of this flower.In addition, they can be edible when fully ripe.Passion fruit is a very sweet fruit; therefore, people use this in many drinks.

6.DANGERS TO THE RAIN FOREST

Today, the rain forests face many dangers-most of them created by humans. I will tell you some of them:

POACHING

Poaching has now become a huge threat to animals such as pandas ,leopards and many more. Many elephants have been killed for their tusks.In addition, leopards and pandas have been killed for their skins, which are used to make clothing.

MINING

Mining has also been a threat to the rain forest because they are ruining the animal's habitat. They do this because in rain forests there can be many expensive rocks underground:gold, copper, diamonds and more.

Burning

This is also known as slash and burn farming. It is believed this method accounts for half of the rain forest destruction. Trees are burnt to make way for cattle farming. However, the land quickly becomes unusable because the soil is of poor quality. It also gets very dry without the forest so that the farmers have to move on to burn new areas.